T he holiday season hits high gear, and because this is New Haven, the ride is easily, expectantly shared between the mainstream and the countercultural.

Monday, December 4
Local artist Daniel Eugene’s photography series #NHVDrag is being exhibited at the New Haven Pride Center (84 Orange St, New Haven; 203-387-2252), starting with a 6 p.m. opening reception today. Featuring images of local drag queens and performances, organizers say “this event will focus on the photographs, their historical implication, documentary nature and the overarching dynamics of the evolution of gender and sexual identity.” Free to attend.

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Tuesday, December 5
Through December 17, Long Wharf Theatre (222 Sargent Dr, New Haven; 203-787-4282) is conjuring the black, white and more importantly gray and sepia tones of the 1940s via The Chosen, a drama now out of previews. Following Reuven and Danny, two young Jewish men from rival sects who strike up an unlikely friendship, producers call it a “story of fathers and sons, tradition, modernity and the difficult choices one must make to achieve understanding.” Tickets to tonight’s 7 p.m. show cost $70.50 or $80.50, depending on where you sit.

Wednesday, December 6
Gateway Community College’s Chefs of Our Kitchen (COOK) series continues with featured guest John Baricelli, a lifelong chef and the owner of SoNo Baking Company and Cafe in South Norwalk. The evening begins with a 6 p.m. “pre-event reception with wine, beer… soft drinks and hors d’oeuvres,” then finishes with a 6:45 interactive demonstration and meal, paired with beer or wine, of “three courses of delicious food prepared by the featured chef and GCC Hospitality Management students.” Tickets, which include a memoir or recipe booklet by the guest chef and validated parking in the Temple Street Garage, cost $70. Church and George Streets, New Haven.

Thursday, December 7
Inside the quaint bookshop Books & Company (1235 Whitney Ave, Hamden), actors Colin Lane and Rebecca Zaretsky give “a delightful, dramatic reading” of Dylan Thomas’s A Child’s Christmas in Wales. It’s the seventh annual such reading, and it coincides with the store’s “Fall into Winter” sale and Hamden Kids’ Gift Drive, the latter of which invites people to donate either by bringing “a new, unwrapped gift” or buying a gift from the shop at a 25% discount.

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Friday, December 8
The annual Odds and Ends Art Book Fair happens from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the lobby of the Yale University Art Gallery (1111 Chapel St, New Haven; 203-432-0601). “The fair includes books from small independent publishers who focus on art, architecture, photography and design; rare and limited-edition books and zines printed in short runs and showcasing a range of publishing endeavors; and artists’ books by students and alumni of the Yale University School of Art and the Rhode Island School of Design.” Free to browse.

At Whitneyville Cultural Commons (1247-53 Whitney Ave, Hamden), the second annual Vegan Holiday Bazaar offers “three… days of inclusiveness, celebrating people [and] animals in harmony with the land.” Active today from 5 to 9 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., nearly 50 gift vendors and 20 food and drink vendors—all cruelty-free, with some sticking around for the whole weekend and others popping in and out—are currently announced, in addition to speakers and musical performers on Saturday. Admission costs $5.

Saturday, December 9
It’s a very busy Saturday, especially in Westville. Starting at noon, an “Anti-Mall : shop small” pop-up—“an eight-hour event focused on selling curated gifts and art for the holiday season,” like ceramics, prints, skincare, jewelry, metal- and woodwork and more—fills up The Range at Lotta Studio (911 Whalley Ave, New Haven). A few blocks away at Lyric Hall (827 Whalley Ave, New Haven; 203-389-8885), a Flair Fair Holiday Bazaar offers quirky pins, buttons, patches and more from 1 to 7 p.m. At Kehler Liddell Gallery (873 Whalley Ave, New Haven; 203-389-9555), Deck the Walls, the gallery’s annual holiday season group show, gets an opening reception from 3 to 6 p.m., coinciding with the launch of UNFRAMED, the gallery’s annual unframed art sale. From 5 to 8 p.m., the first Westville Wine Walk, beginning from the Range at Lotta Studio, gives participants a glass and a map of spots where they can fill it, with tickets costing $20 at the door or $15 in advance. Meanwhile, at 5:30, Westville’s annual tree lighting festivities take over the parking lot at Blake Street and Whalley Avenue.

From noon to 4 p.m. along Broadway, the Shops at Yale are putting on an ice carving competition to a soundtrack of live singing from the Whiffenpoofs, the Connecticut Yuletide Carolers and others. “Watch as six professional ice carvers each transform 900 pounds of ice into a spectacular sculpture in only 4 hours,” organizers say, touting “great photo opportunities with the ice sculptures after the event.” Free to attend.

From 4 to 6 p.m. in Marquand Chapel (409 Prospect St, New Haven), Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music hosts a performance of From Prison to Release, a work of theater in which “survivors of the criminal justice system recount their journeys from prison to release.” Co-created by ISM professor Ron Jenkins, students of his course “Performance Behind Bars” and a group of formerly incarcerated men and their families, the play takes inspiration from The Divine Comedy, “framed by Dante’s journey from Inferno through Purgatory to Paradise.” Free.

Sunday, December 10
Starting Friday at 7 p.m. and finishing today with 10 a.m and 1 p.m. performances, the Shubert Theatre (247 College St, New Haven; 203-562-5666) presents the very family-friendly Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical. “It’s an adventure that teaches us that what makes you different can be what makes you special,” producers say. “Don’t miss this wonderful holiday tradition that speaks to the misfit in all of us.” $39-89.

Written and photographed by Dan Mims. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.

About Dan Mims

Dan has worked for a couple of major media companies, but he likes Daily Nutmeg best. As DN’s editor, he writes, photographs, edits and otherwise shepherds ideas into fully realized feature stories, helped very much by a small team of dedicated contributors.